Yesterday, I met an old friend after ages and we had a lot of catching up to do. She was telling me about her plans to get married and how it's going to be tricky because the guy is from a different religious community. They've been secretly seeing each other for years but now that they are ready to tie the knot, the news must be broken to the families.

She told me that they had already taken her brother and his wife into confidence. We've known each other since we were little kids (I was 4 and she was 5) and her brother is probably a year or two younger to me. I still think of him as this pesky little kid, since I haven't seen him in decades! So when she told me her brother's reaction to her big news, I couldn't help but go "Awwwww!!!"

Apparently her sister-in-law first asked her if she liked the guy (they've all hung out together) and when my friend confirmed the news, she told her husband about it later when they were alone. And what did little brother do? He didn't say a word, he just came home that evening and handed his sister a beautiful bouquet of flowers! She asked him what the flowers were for and he just smiled and said, "Just like that."

Isn't that sweet? I love this about some men; it just turns me into a mushy heap. I love it when they are too shy and awkward to express their feelings overtly and do it in these quiet, subtle ways.

I was just thinking that if my friend had a sister who suddenly found out that she'd been seeing this guy secretly for years and is planning to marry him, there would be loud yelps and screams and probably abuses and hurtful accusations for not being informed sooner ;-)

I'm now trying hard to recollect how my brother reacted when I first told him I was getting married. Hmmm... there were no flowers for sure. I think there was just this long silence, which continues to this day!


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